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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The last noted conversation between President Obama and President Yanukovych happened nearly two years ago.

WASHINGTON — Ukraine took a steep step toward total chaos Tuesday as
the government attempted to forcefully clear Kiev’s main square of a
three-month-long protest, resulting in at least 19 reported deaths.

Twitter was bursting with live reports of the mayhem and pictures of
protesters’ bloodied faces. Heavyweight boxing champ and parliamentary
opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged foes of the Viktor Yanukovych
regime to stay in the square, and the numbers not only stayed consistent
but swelled. Though Klitschko urged women and children to leave the
square when it became apparent that Yanukovych was orchestrating an
offensive against the demonstrators, reports from the scene included
elderly women calling police “killers” and challenging them to shoot.
Protesters erected a fire barricade to help keep the police at bay as
anthems filled the smoky air in a scene reminiscent of the 1989
Tiananmen Square protests. Government snipers aiming at protesters from
the rooftops were supplied by Russia, said the opposition, while
Yanukovych forces claimed they were sent by NATO.

Eyes turned toward Washington for statements on the events, forceful
words for Yanukovych or perhaps even a threat of sanctions. But
throughout the months-long ordeal, those communications have not been
coming from the commander in chief.

The White House handed off the crisis to Vice President Joe Biden
some time ago, with the last discussion released by the press office
between President Obama and Yanukovych happening on March 27, 2012.
There’s no indication of the two leaders speaking since.

That 2012 discussion was at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul,
South Korea. According to a readout from the White House, Obama “raised
U.S. concerns about selective prosecutions of the political opposition.”

Since then, Ukraine’s president has dealt with America’s No. 2. In
November 2012, Biden thanked Yanukovych for his congratulations on their
ticket’s re-election and “urged Ukraine to live up to its democratic
commitments and end selective prosecutions.” In November 2013, Biden
called Yanukovych to express “his disappointment in the Ukrainian
government’s decision to delay preparations for signature of an
Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement
with the EU,” a decision to pull back from Europe and toward Moscow that
sparked the protests.

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